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Re: Long off season anaylsis/discussion (OL)

Originally Posted by pete4256

Culbreth, Wilson, and Northrop, and maybe even Williams, can all be “plus” tackles if things goes well. I’m talking about someone emerging besides them (or one of them being a “plus” and another playing at an all-Conference level).

CJ Wright won’t play OT in college. He doesn’t have the length.

Don't forget about Lawrence Edwards....he was a very good offensive tackle in high school whose ability could have been masked by Summers, just like Culbreth's was.

Don't choose to be annoyed. Choose to be amused.

If you think TK is the reason we don't have better non-conference football schedules, see this post.

Re: Long off season anaylsis/discussion (OL)

Not sure if he is healthy, but if he is and has put on some weight I think Ackerman's length and the fact that he came in as a TE (potential for good footwork) could give him potential to be a great tackle. I think Caleb Kelly could be a stud in the interior, hopefully at C where he can get consistent good snaps. The fact that we have had so many bad snaps the past couple years is dumb.
Ultimately, if our OLine can find 6 or 7 guys that can play at a high level, especially a couple who can be plug and play, we will be in good hands. Having depth would help me sleep easy at night.

Re: Long off season anaylsis/discussion (OL)

Ackerman has good athleticism and probably his talent has been misappropriated the last two years. But hey our coaching the last two years have negated alot of talent. Kelly has talent at center or guard and will be a big factor in the OL future scheme.

Re: Long off season anaylsis/discussion (OL)

Originally Posted by AcctEagle221

Not sure if he is healthy, but if he is and has put on some weight I think Ackerman's length and the fact that he came in as a TE (potential for good footwork) could give him potential to be a great tackle. I think Caleb Kelly could be a stud in the interior, hopefully at C where he can get consistent good snaps. The fact that we have had so many bad snaps the past couple years is dumb.
Ultimately, if our OLine can find 6 or 7 guys that can play at a high level, especially a couple who can be plug and play, we will be in good hands. Having depth would help me sleep easy at night.

My thought on Ackerman when he changed positions is that he could make a productive veer-style OT.

Of course, the basis for my reasoning was, uh, flawed.

As far as depth, we have six or seven guys who’ve already started games, with two high-level JUCOs and another five or six youngsters behind them. In other words, I don’t think depth is the issue as much as raising our overall ceiling while learning another new system.

Re: Long off season anaylsis/discussion (OL)

I believe Northrop is proven and at his best at guard. Wilson, Culbreth, Edwards maybe. Newer possibilities include Leeds, Smith. Unknown developmental quality Backer, Malloy and Okwilagwe.

Northrup is a very good one, and he’s also quite versatile. While he has the footwork to play G, he has long arms for his height and can play T, too. I think he’s got the right kind of athleticism to play C if necessary, too.

Culbreth was very good as a freshman, and he was very good down the stretch in 2016 (good play wrapped around an injury late in the season).

I still believe in Drew Wilson, but he was a liability at pass pro at RT. He has an exceptionally high ceiling at OG, I think.

Going into spring, I’d be missing Boynton but otherwise looking to rearrange personnel closer to the lineups we had in 2015-2016.

Jake Edwards: played a lot last season, though I’m not sure what his best position is.
Drake Grall: hey, runts try harder! He played some quality snaps last season.
Caleb Kelly: played a lot of G last season and will most likely begin spring at RG with Wilson at RT, maybe? He’s got a good bit of upside on the interior, and this might be a good opportunity to groom him as Rainey’s replacement at C in 2019.

Boynton and Chris Washington are gone, and I’m drawing a blank on who else lettered last season.

IIRC, Leeds wasn’t far from the top of the depth chart before redshirting in 2017.
Dowdell looks like he could play OG right away, as long as he keeps his weight down.
Webb looks ready to open some holes. Like Northrup, he’s got long arms despite being 6’2”, and he could provide quality at any position.
Lawrence Edwards was close to playing as a TF in 2016. We REALLY need him to step up and play OT at a high level.
Tucker and Miller were signed as DL/OL, so you’d have to think they have athleticism. Ditto for former TE Ackerman.

Cooper and Smith were highly-touted signees who are early enough in their careers to make a move.

IMO, that’s a huge pool to draw from. I hope the starting five are the right mix and play out of their minds in 2018.